books.google.com - When seventeen-year-old Elsie runs away from home, she seeks out her older sister Leo, only to find Leo sharing a houseboat, and a bed, with the beautiful, fair-haired Helen. When Elsie decides to stay for a bit, she turns Helen and Leo's lifestyle upside down. An enchanting portrait of Bohemian life...https://books.google.com/books/about/The_friendly_young_ladies.html?id=6wDCAAAAIAAJ&utm_source=gb-gplus-shareThe friendly young ladies

The friendly young ladies

When seventeen-year-old Elsie runs away from home, she seeks out her older sister Leo, only to find Leo sharing a houseboat, and a bed, with the beautiful, fair-haired Helen. When Elsie decides to stay for a bit, she turns Helen and Leo's lifestyle upside down. An enchanting portrait of Bohemian life in 1930s London, this delightfully provocative romantic comedy was written in 1943 in opposition to the despair characteristic of Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness or Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour.

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Review: The Friendly Young Ladies

User Review - Bert - Goodreads

I loved Leo and her corduroy slack-wearing, cigarette-smoking, western-writing tomboyishness. Loved the casually bohemian tone of it all. The ending was a bit melodramatic and a bit unsatisfying but otherwise this was delightful and written with great charm and quiet insinuation.Read full review

Review: The Friendly Young Ladies

User Review - Jesi - Goodreads

Renault wrote this as a response to Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, as a much lighter, less doom-and-gloom story of lesbian life, set in 1930s Britain. It's definitely quirky and witty, but ...Read full review